Mob Rules

The Edge's newest production takes audiences into the seedy underbelly of New Jersey -- a world populated by rogue FBI agents, corrupt detectives and Mafia hit men. At the center of Jonson Kuhn's Newark Violenta, which makes its world premiere tonight, is Leo Betti, a bookie attempting to find his estranged son and a multi-carat diamond before his arch-enemy does. Director Richard Cowden says the team at the Edge wanted to pay homage to classic Italian crime stories, but also to create something a little different.

"We've all watched The Sopranos, we've all seen Goodfellas, we've all watched The Departed, but a big part of this was, what does this have to offer that sitting at home with a Redbox movie and drinking beer doesn't?" says Cowden. "A big part of that is the humor." Cowden compares the darkly funny production to bringing a Quentin Tarantino film to the stage, complete with tons of blood, violence, profanity and a lot of laughs. Watch as the characters of the Newark world of crime finally meet up for a showdown. “Because this is the world it is,” promises the director, “not everybody is going to walk out of there alive.”